I started the data collection portion of my action research last week by having my students complete an initial probe as an introduction to our unit on motion. The probe, "Rolling Marbles" (I believe it is in book 3), presents students with an example of circular motion in the form of a marble rolling down a spiral track, or slide. The probe asks students to choose which statement they agree with most and to write an explanation supporting their answers. While I am still compiling the data obtained from the first administration of the probe, I am already noticing a tendency for students to answer that the "rolling marble" will follow a curved path after it leaves the spiral track despite the absence of a track to continue to influence its motion. My next step is to continue compilation of the data and to tally student responses to determine which answers were most frequently chosen.
Loading...